How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bush Presidency

In 1964, Stanley Kubrick released upon the world a masterpiece of cinema known as Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. This was a monumental feat considering the genius of the work itself and the climate in which it was released.

For those who haven't seen it (go see it immediately), the story picks up after a Brigadier General calls for a nuclear strike against Russia after going completely insane with Red Fever. The President and his top brass have to stop an entire bombing group from bombing targets as their actions would set off a vast nuclear war with Russia, but would trigger and automatic Doomsday device set to destroy all human life.

It's hilarious.

In the Cold War era that it was released, it's probably surprising considering the current political climate that something of this caliber would make such an impact. It's a brilliantly written and directed film starring some of the greatest acting talents (including Peter Sellers and George C. Scott). But at the core of the movie, it is an indictment of the government's flippancy and arrogance. It is a black comedy making fun of the hubris that could eventually get us all killed. It was also a statement on the attitudes toward our enemies, displaying the leaders of the country as little more than schoolboys impressed by the levels of power they'd achieved.

It makes me wonder if this type of movie could be released today. So far, nothing has - and maybe that's something that will take time. Certainly the 1960s are regarded as a hotbed of political activism and activity in general. A tense time where domestic issues (racial, etc.) were dwarfed by international relations.

Where is the satire of our current political state?

I feel like that's a necessity. To laugh at the state one is in. There has been so much vitriolic sentiment between the people and their government, the president and his party, our country and the world, both political parties, etc. that it seems like we all need to sit down and have a good laugh about it. That's what Dr. Strangelove did for the 1960s.

Of course the subject matter was a bit more momentous. The concept of mutually assured destruction - of wiping out all human life for a political point - is fairly easy to satirize. What exactly would we be making fun of if we made fun of the climate today?

It's too easy during times like these to make a piece of art and infuse it with bitterness. Instead of Stranglove - a work of inspiration by the best of the day - we have Michael Moore making fauxcumenteries with little more than tongue and cheek idiocy. Isn't there someone out there that can make a funny movie? If war has evolved, why hasn't the war-comedy?

I feel like it's our duty to constantly examine ourselves and to laugh at our situation. Indeed, if we truly examine ourselves, the correct response should usually be laughter.

Are we too afraid to look at ourselves to find humor? Too afraid of being the butt of a joke?

Or maybe the joke is just too big. At this point, I'm not sure, but I get the feeling that Dr. Strangelove would be.